What can be done when animals such as skunks and raccoons dig up your lawn to look for white grubs?

Ruth called in to tell us that she had heard about using Tide laundry granules.

She said she got a $15 box and sprinkled it over her city sized lawn.

So far- the animals haven't been back.

Maybe the skunks had harvested all the grubs and it wasn't worth digging in her lawn anymore. 
Or maybe they dislike the fresh clean smell of Tide.

Now, if there are still some grubs there- how long will the Tide keep working?

One night when it rained, Ruth said she saw some bubbles. So if nothing else- her lawn is nice and clean.

www.lawncarehamilton.com

 If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

When lawns are damaged by insects and need to be repaired. We almost always recommend aeration and overseed as the method to be used to get the lawn back in shape. The seeds falling in the aeration holes are almost sure of germinating. Here is a photo of an core aeration hole on lawn that was aerated and seeded.

Seeding is much less expensive than sodding. Sodding is great if you need an instant fix. Seeding takes a little longer but in the long run is a better fix. With seeding, you will normally use a seed mix with several species and varieties. This variability in the lawn population will increase the lawn's resistance to disease and help it to overcome those conditions such as soil, light/shade, and drainage.

 Aeration/overseed is much more economical than topdressing and seeding. Topdressing is also great for the lawn, but when it purpose is to repair the lawn, aeration/overseed  is the way to go. There is not the same amount of labour needed to move wheelbarrows of soil to the furthest corner of the lawn.

Sometimes, people are concerned that the holes are 4-10 inches apart. With aeration/overseed, you are unlikely to see a whole lot of green "fuzz" of seeds coming up. That green fuzz of seeds germinating is what one often sees when topdressing and seeding.

 One thing to remember is that we only need one grass seedling every 6-8 inches to germinate.

When a stray seed grows in the flower bed and is given a little while to grow, that single seed will grow into a grass plant that can span 6-8 inches very easily. So if only one seed grows in the aeration holes and nowhere else, the lawn will fill in.

(in this photo above, here are 2 single grass plants. Together they are at least 6 inches wide. Notice the peach pits to the right)

 In the situations where a fuzz of grass seedlings grow, one must remember that if there are a hundred seeds in a small area the size of a sheet of paper, only 2-4 seeds are likely to survive. I know that because I have seen a hundred weeds seeds grow in a small area much like the grass. A few weeks later, when I didn't pull out those weeds, I notice that even though there were originally a lot of seedlings, only a have dozen have survived. The rest of the seedlings have died out due to the competition from there "litter mates."

The same thing will happen with the grass seedlings. It's just that with grasses, it is much harder to distinguish individual plants.

 After the aeration/overseeding, the lawn should be watered daily to allow the grass seed to germinate.

Seeding is much less expensive than sodding. Sodding is great if you need an instant fix. Seeding takes a little longer but in the long run is a better fix. With seeding, you will normally use a seed mix with several species and varieties. This variability in the lawn population will increase the lawn's resistance to disease and help it to overcome those conditions such as soil, light/shade, and drainage.

 If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Hi Gerry, I have a question about my lawn. I just seeded my lawn. How long do I have to wait to fertilize my lawn?

Depends on the fertilizer-

If you use .a seeding / sodding fertiizer- use it right away. These types of fertilizers are formulated to feed the roots. Thus they are typically high in the middle number to provide phosphorus. Having said that, most soils in this area are not lacking in phosphorus. Phosphorus does not move out of the soil easily.

Other types of fertilizer - do not use unless they are 70-75% slow release as the nutrients could burn tender seedling roots. Most other lawn fertilizers have a larger portion of the first number- Nitrogen. Too much Nitrogen can be hard on young roots. When they are not mostly slow release, the Nitrogen is readily available to the plants. In this case, do not use until the seedlings are well established. Or use at only one-quarter the recommended rate.

Our Turf King fertilizer is 75% slow release and will not burn seedlings. For our customers, there is no danger of harming new grass seedlings if our fertilizer is applied shortly before or shortly after you seed your lawn.

 If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN: